AUBURN, Alabama -- Shon Coleman's battle against cancer is nothing more than a memory.

Shon Coleman ready for Auburn debutRedshirt freshman Shon Coleman's battle against cancer is nothing but a memory now, and the highly-recruited offensive tackle is looking forward to making an impact on the football field for Auburn in 2013. (Brandon Marcello/bmarcello@al.com)

"I think about it, but I pretty much, you know, put it behind me," Coleman said of his battle against lymphoblastic leukemia. "I'm worried about just making the team better and us having a great season this year."

Coleman was cleared to return to practices at the end of spring workouts in 2012. He was available for the season but did not play.

The former five-star tackle certainly has high hopes for the future, but he speaks more like a first-year player than the 21-year-old that now stands on the Tigers' practice field. Teammates and coaches, however, don't speak to him like a freshman.

"I think he's got a chance to be really good," offensive line coach J.B. Grimes said. "Physically, God blessed him with a lot of ability."

The 6-foot-6, 306-pound Coleman is splitting time at left and right tackle as the Tigers approach the end of preseason camp. He would likely be the first player to enter the game if Greg Robinson tires or is hobbled at left tackle, Grimes said. Is he close to cracking the two-deep somewhere on the offensive line?

"I'm not sure. That's something the coaches worry about," Coleman said. "I'm just trying to get better as a player."

He's also in the mix at right tackle, where he moved at the beginning of preseason camp to battle for the lone open job on the line. Avery Young and Patrick Miller are in the lead, but Coleman has shown flashes of potential.

Coleman's natural length -- "he's like an Avatar," Grimes said, comparing the tackle to one of the characters from the James Cameron film. -- allowed him to recover once Lawson bounced back to the outside. He stuck his left hand out, recovering in time to stop Lawson from reaching the backfield.

"Coaching didn't have a dadgum thing to do with that," Grimes said. "That guy has got some talent and he's long. That impressed me. Not a whole lot of guys can do that, can bite on that and then recover and block the guy. I don't think Carl had probably seen one like that either in his young career."

Coleman will dress out and play at some point this season. He likely will not take the field for the first time as a starter, but he will as a backup on an offensive line coach Gus Malzahn believes is the deepest in at least five seasons.

Coleman is also happy that his return to the field matches up perfectly with Malzahn's return to the Plains as the first-year coach.

"Him coming back, putting players in a better position to win, using his offense is one of the greatest things that probably ever happened here," Coleman said. "I'm real supportive about it. The whole team is supportive about it. We're just ready to go out there and win."